Starving Before the World’s Eyes: A Trial for the Ummah, A Victory for the Martyrs

BACK IN 1950, scientist Ancel Keys studied the effects of a very low-calorie diet on 36 healthy men for six months. His paper ‘The Biology of Human Starvation’ has helped scientists understand how the body reacts when it doesn’t get enough food.

Starvation happens when someone doesn’t get enough food over a long period. This means the body doesn’t receive enough calories to meet its basic energy needs. When this happens, the body uses up its stored energy, leading to weight loss, muscle breakdown, and eventually death.

At first, going without food feels similar to skipping a meal or going overnight without eating. Energy levels drop, but pick back up with some rest or water.

But after a few days with no food, the body starts to break down its own tissues for energy. First, it uses up stored sugars and fats. Then, it begins to break down muscles for protein. Muscles get smaller, and people feel very tired and weak. As this continues, the body slows down its metabolism and non-essential functions shut down. It also loses the ability to keep warm, the kidneys stop working properly, and the immune system gets weaker.

Vital organs start to shrink, including the heart, lungs, ovaries, and testes. Body temperature drops, so they often feel cold. Mental effects can include irritability and trouble focusing.

In the final stages, the body runs out of everything else and starts using what is left of muscle, including the heart. When this happens, death is usually not far off. People may have hallucinations, seizures, or irregular heartbeats. Eventually, the heart stops.

How long can someone survive without food? There’s no universal answer. Survival depends on age, body weight, hydration, overall health, and access to minimal nutrients. Some reports suggest people may survive up to 40 days. But in many cases—especially where water is also scarce—death comes far sooner.

I studied this as a medical student over 30 years ago. I never imagined I would witness starvation on a mass scale in my lifetime. Yet that is exactly what we are seeing unfold in Gaza.

The weakest have already begun to die. But the numbers will soon rise sharply as more and more bodies reach that irreversible final stage.

This is not a natural disaster. It is not collateral damage. It is deliberate. The Zionist regime is using starvation as a weapon of war. They are killing people by every means available. The effects of hunger are visible everywhere—bodies wasting away, children too weak to cry, desperate civilians rushing toward so-called “aid” sites, only to be met with bullets. These are not humanitarian zones—they are killing fields.

This is genocide. No buts. No ifs. No maybes.

It is perpetrated by the Zionist state, with full backing from Western governments. Their support is rooted in a toxic mix of racism, a hatred of Islam, geopolitical ambition, and economic self-interest. Their values have been laid bare for the world to see. And for those of us who believe and are aware, we expected nothing less. Violence and mass extermination has always been the way of the colonisers.

But Allah also says:

وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ

Allah will certainly distinguish between those who have (sure) faith and the hypocrites. (al-Ankabut 11)

Through Gaza, that distinction is being made clear every single day.

The worst betrayal comes from within—from our own rulers. Those who claim to speak for our people have bowed to the disbelievers. They have wealth, armies, and influence, yet they have done nothing. They could have severed diplomatic ties. They could have closed US bases across Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, and Turkey. They could have halted trade and frozen deals. Instead, they chose complicity—signing trillions with those aiding the slaughter.

The people of Gaza have died with their iman intact. Victory. They are free of this world’s suffering and betrayal. For them, Jannah awaits.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٌۭ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ

Surely those who believe and do good will have Gardens under which rivers flow. That is the greatest triumph. (al Buruj 11)

The question is: what will we do?

No one is coming to save us. No one represents the interests of Islam. No one speaks for the ummah.

So the need is now crystal clear: we must unite. We must remove the rulers who have failed us and dismantle the systems that serve our enemies. Only through the restoration of Islamic khilafah and true Islamic leadership can we protect the honour, dignity, and survival of our people and bring light and justice to the world.